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Topic: Rant: The Dime a Dozen Dj. (Read 2391 times)

Recently, as I do, I've been going over random mixes through sound cloud and youtube and what not, unsurprisingly there is a massive amount of "dime a dozen" Dj's that have trouble mixing, poor mix structure, poor track selection and have all over all just god awful mixes. Some of these guys look to be beginners, but most do not. These guys have all sorts of fancy gear like 2000s and feel the need to run two decks through a 4 channel mixer, yet they still can't mix.

Now I don't claim to be he best, I'm far from it, but at the same time, I think I'm good enough to know a shit Dj when I see one. These are the sort of blokes that decide to play club smashers all day, think it's a good idea to splash out on the fanciest gear with all the effects, and are the guys that sit on the fucking flanger and hp/lp colour filter like there mix depends on it (and it often does). I'm not condemning Djs that have really nice gear, and If I were given a club setup, who am I to complain, but good gear not mean you are a real Dj.

In actual fact, a real Dj has dynamic mix structure, and can employs techniques like genre jumping, scratching, beat juggling, harmonic mixing… the list goes on. These are the sorts of guys that are't in it for the "fame" but are in it for party vibes, bassy goodness and to just kill it. As I've started to move away from the electro scene and into the bass scene I've seen more and more of the right type of Djs, the sorts of dudes that are searching for sick tunes, know what the crowd want and don't rely on the best gear to make there mixes. There are too many awesome dudes to mention, If I've ever complimented your mix, it's because I see you as a dude that is a real Dj.

When I've been discussing this with other Djs often I will hear them say, "but the crowd loves it… they are ok with these sorts of dudes". That's a fair comment, they are right, the crowd is ok with crappy Djs, but it's because clubs don't always provide good Djs. Clubs will often just go to the dude who can get the most numbers, as a result the dude that can get the most numbers will be getting gigs, and not feel a need to improve him self. I understand that numbers are essential for clubs to survive but it's not helping the problem. Along with this many crowds never attribute the Dj as being an underlying factor to them enjoying the night, many club goers will just think the club or event was good and the vibe was good, this is because most punters aren't Djs and don't know the signs.

I don't think it's past someone to go from being a "dime a dozen" Dj to a real Dj, a selector. Hell I've progressed past that point. But I'm seldom finding people that try.